Turkish court jails Kurdish leader for 42 years over 2014 unrest

ISTANBUL: A Turkish court on Thursday sentenced an ex-leader of the pro-Kurdish HDP party to 42 years in prison for his alleged role in deadly 2014 protests that erupted as Islamic State group jihadists overran the Syrian town of Kobane.

Already jailed since 2016, Selahattin Demirtas, 51, a two-time election rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was convicted for dozens of crimes including undermining state unity and the country´s integrity.

The court in Sincan on the outskirts of the capital Ankara also sentenced HDP´s former co-chair Figen Yuksekdag to 30 years and three months, private broadcaster NTV and rights group MLSA reported.

The cases against former members of the Peoples´ Democratic Party (HDP) -- including Demirtas and Yuksekdag -- stem from one of the darker episodes of the more than decade-long Syria war. Thirty-seven people died in violent demonstrations against the Turkish army´s inaction in the face of an IS offensive against the largely Kurdish northern Syrian town.